Optical fibers are extensively used in telecom and datacom applications. Optical fiber connectors for these applications were developed to be used for voice and data transmission within markets that have demanding performance requirements and that can tolerate the purchase of expensive components. In addition, the traditional voice and data applications may not require the same degree of miniaturization that is needed for use inside crowded computer cabinets.
Prior solutions for connectorizing multiple optical fibers are typified by the MT-based family of ferrules and associated latching mechanisms such as the MPO and MTP connectors. The MT ferrule is a high precision part fabricated by transfer or injection molding. Each optical fiber assembled into the MT ferrule must be located into a dedicated molded hole. The position and diameter of the fiber locating holes are held to a tolerance of <3 um. After the fibers are loaded into the molded holes, they are fixed with adhesive. Afterwards, the face of the connector is precisely polished. Many of these assembly processes are primarily manual, and therefore expensive and challenging to ramp into very high volume production.
The standard MT ferrule is 8.1 mm long. The space required to accommodate a 90 degree turn of a standard multimode fiber ribbon is approximately 10 mm. Therefore a height of approximately 20 mm is required in order to achieve a 90 degree turn of the optical signal. Other connectors have been conceived that produce the optical turn in a smaller height dimension. These typically incorporate lenses, prisms, parabolic reflectors, or other relatively complicated optical elements. These components also typically incorporate relatively large parts and assemblies in order to perform the ‘latching’ function whereby two connectors are attached to each other, or connected to a transceiver.